


Library Of Love

by midnightwriter



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Book lover Flint, Canon Related, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 14:39:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19814392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightwriter/pseuds/midnightwriter
Summary: "The ship only had riches inside: gold, wood, jewels, fabrics, all of the highest quality. Despite that, what really made Flint's eyes shine was the collection of books inside. During the bloody battle, however, there was no opportunity for the man himself to grab one, so Silver took one randomly and hid under his blouse.Later, he left the book on top of the captain's desk."Silver uses stolen books to court Flint. But Flint has no idea of Silver's real intentions (because he's an idiot, as Silver would agree).





	Library Of Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alternate_me](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alternate_me/gifts).



> This story was born out of a conversation between me and @alternate_me. Thanks for keeping my silverflint flame alive!
> 
> Also, English isn't my first language and I don't have a beta, so I appreciate if you point mistakes and typos (and my text editor was configured to British English and I only noticed it after writing the whole thing so I'm sorry for a fic that is not entirely in British or American English but somewhere in between)

John Silver was an observant man. This, more than his silver tongue, was his most valuable quality; what had helped him survive until this far. Hence, he had used that ability to his use every time he was in danger, and there had never been a more dangerous situation in his life than being a part of Captain Flint's crew - reluctantly as the captain was about allowing it at first.

Considering this, John was extra observant of the man. In a few days in the Walrus, he gathered some information about him. He knew the captain was no ordinary man, Silver was almost certain that Flint had some knowledge of a proper marine. It was hard to picture the great and scary Captain Flint in the Navy, but maybe he had a dishonoured discharge (that would make sense).

Just as he knew that Flint was an educated man, he could read and write. This was obvious by the number of books the man carried in the ship. Honestly, what other bloodthirsty pirates wasted space and weight carrying around books?

He also knew that the captain had a goal, which was obscure to all of those around him; no man in the crew or in Nassau truly knew of his plans. Silver had the opinion that the Urca and its gold were just a tiny part of it and very curious to know more.

He knew that Flint wasn't a man used to giving in to the normal pleasures of life. Any man in the crew would board at Nassau and go straight to the tavern have a drink or to the brothel, have sex. Not Flint. Even during times of distress, the man wasn't much of a drinker. Silver thought that the woman the captain had on the land must be one hell of a wife because other married men had no quarrels about seeking prostitutes after a long trip.

All of this knowledge made Silver wonder what type of man Captain James Flint was before this life of piracy. It should've been as interesting as the one that now commanded this pirate ship, he didn't doubt that. Silver had every intention of figuring this man because it was the only way to keep himself alive.

Now that his observations told a little bit more of the man, beneath all the tales and gossips he heard before, John felt prepared to try and sway the captain's opinion. He would very much like to keep his head (and the rest of his body) above water, thank you very much.

He tried to be nice and even saving the man's life but what honestly captured the captain's interest was when Silver, out of reflex, decided to steal a book from the commercial ship they boarded. The ship only had riches inside: gold, wood, jewels, fabrics, all of the highest quality. Despite that, what really made Flint's eyes shine was the collection of books inside. During the bloody battle, however, there was no opportunity for the man himself to grab one, so Silver took one randomly and hid under his blouse.

Later, he left the book on top of the captain's desk. Somehow, Flint knew it was him who did it and asked him why. Silver turned his charm on and smiled broadly before saying, "Well, you appear to like books."

He saw Flint's suffering look, asking himself why he hadn't killed Silver yet. John wasn't deterred by that, this look was better than the murderous ones that were usually sent his way. He considered this a victory. So much that it was a course of action worth of continuing.

As time went on, it became a practice more than just reflex. He would take a book or, after the loss of his leg, ask for one of the men to take one. The book itself didn't matter, the idea behind it did. After the first ones, Flint would always come to him with that same suffering look, tired and untrusting of Silver's intention. John would respond to that using any variations of "the ones inside your cabin appear to be quite old and worn". Later on, Flint wouldn't say anything, simply nod and accept the book.

When, after a particularly violent battle that they almost didn't survive and there was no time to search for books, he saw Flint's disappointed look at the lack of new leather-covered pages. That was when Silver knew he was now important to the captain, that this whatever it was between them — camaraderie, friendship, partnership — had evolved through time. It was around the same time he noticed he started to enjoy the captain's company as well.

Every day next to the captain he learned something new, desperately trying to satiate his need to know more about him. Unfortunately, it was the same as drinking seawater, it only made him thirsty for more. Every new detail he learned made him want to know more and more and more until there was nothing left to know. The strange part was that Silver was hopeful that would never be a time when he actually knew everything there was to know about the captain, and such a thing did seem impossible, considering the man was always hiding or plotting something.

Silver did not dare to read into this curiosity. He was far too intelligent for that, and he would like to appeal to any plausible deniability.

Then, it began to be a more precise action. He would choose the books more carefully because, by now, he knew which authors and which types of books were Flint's favourites. Even with their never-ending fights and wars, Flint always found the time to read. Sometimes, Silver would visit his cabin and find the man deep in concentration, reading every word of every page with reverence, committing them to memory. To see such a fearless man so quiet was as beautiful as watching a calm sea after a revolting storm, Silver wished he could stop those moments and paint them, so he could admire them forever.

Which was how he noticed that it was getting harder to hide his real motive from himself. It used to be easier to lie about his reasons when his real motive was about the necessity to make Flint like him and, possibly, not kill him. As time went on and Silver became quartermaster, there was little doubt about Flint's opinion on Silver. They would still argue over matters but, more and more, they became closer; capable of reading each others' mind. It was only a question of time before Flint discovered what Silver had been trying to deny so intently: he was in love. His interest in Flint was beyond those initial reasons for quite some time. Considering this, John tried a subtle approach, one that would make both confess and being rejected less painful.

He only delivered romantic books, whether novels or poetry, it had to be about romance. He chose that as a courting method and, thinking about it, maybe that was what John had been doing for a long time. Sometimes, he would be bold and mark a page that had a particular poem or a paragraph he liked. John didn't have the patience to sit still and read entire books like Flint but would go through a few pages before giving any book to the captain. At the beginning of this plan, he would leaf through the book to be assured there were no marks or printing mistakes on them. Now, he did it to find the parts that would best convey his sentiments towards the captain.

Needless to say, his plan didn't work out as he planned. James fucking Flint was an idiot. Silver's message was completely lost on him. He even dared to tell Silver that he enjoyed the poem he had marked. Silver turned on his charm, certain that now would be the time the captain made a heartfelt confession about feeling the same. It didn't happen. Instead, he suggested another poem that was equally good and said John should feel free to borrow any of the books, any time he wanted. But John didn't want any books, he wanted Flint.

The whole crew was aware of their quartermaster struggle. Some time ago, they stole a shipment of alcohol and decided that they deserved to have a taste of it. Flint took one bottle and locked himself in his cabin, the rest of the men and Silver were left to party without the captain's supervision. A small blessing.

Silver drank more than usual and the crew found out that their quartermaster was as lonely and human as the rest of them, as Silver cried about Flint being a stupid shit-eater who couldn't see what was right in front of him. He didn't remember any of that on the next day but the headache he felt was a good indication that he had drank far too much for his own good. And the crew, instead of rebelling against him or thinking of him as weak, decided to help Silver. They thought that if the captain and Silver were joined in matelotage, the captain would be less awful to the rest of them; the lack of a proper fuck was a good reason as any for Flint to be such an arse.

They would help Silver to take books from the ships they boarded and even avoided disturbing them when they were in the captain's cabin. They would often praise Silver to the captain... Not the usual praise a pirate would make about their quartermaster, though. They would comment about John's beautiful blue eyes, his lovely curly hair, his manly appearance, how sweet he was with his words, the distinct sound of his voice. Silver was both flattered and weird out about it.

It was unsurprising that this approach bared no fruits. Flint only commented on how weird the man had been lately and asked if Silver was planning mutiny because the men certainly would approve of him as their new captain. He wasn't even sad about it, merely accepting of such fate.

At this point, Silver was enraged by Flint's oblivion. He was torn between hitting him in the head or leaving the Walrus to never come back, too ashamed to go on. Then, something hit him: it was impossible for a man so intelligent as Flint to not have noticed Silver's love declarations; so the only possible answer was that Flint understood the message and, unhappy about Silver's courting, ignored him.

Instead of the direct refusal Silver had been dreading would eventually happen, Flint just let him down with pretend ignorance. It hurt even more. Or maybe any way Flint chose to do it would hurt just the same and Silver was trying to find excuses as to why this rejection was so painful. He had endured worse things in life than a lover's refusal; his only leg was there to prove it. Still, being heartbroken was proving to be just as awful as a limb being cut off.

Silver was sulking, there were no other words for it. The men knew and tried to forgive him for his short temper, they all had been heartbroken before. They also decided to be extra hard on Flint, pretending not to listen to his orders. This, however, didn't last long because Flint threatened to throw all of them in the sea for the sirens and sharks to feast, and no one doubted he would do it.

A few days later, Silver apologized for his behaviour to the men, who easily forgave him. Silver started to act more or less normal around Flint again, who continued to pretend that he didn't know about Silver's feelings. It sting but Silver thought it was better this way, not talking about it would make easier for things to go back to normal.

There was something more that could not remain the same: the books. If his hope had ended and the courting was over, Silver no longer felt inclined to steal books for Flint. There was no reason to continue doing it.

Flint, however, didn't seem to agree with this. Silver could see his hopeful expression waiting for a new book to appear on his desk, and he could see his angry demeanour when it didn't. Silver knew that the anger was how Flint hid his hurt and disappointment but there was nothing Silver could do. Gifting the books were for a reason and now none of those reasons existed anymore. Flint would have to get used to the lack of books just as Silver had to get used to being rejected.

One day, after a bloody raid that almost went wrong, Silver watched Flint's hopeful expression morph into rage. Silver could not believe this. After almost two months, Flint was still expecting the books. It made him red in anger and he could no longer hold back the words that had been bubbling up inside him.

"Do you really expect me to keep on giving you books?"

He practically shouted and was glad to know that they were secure behind the thick door of Flint's cabin. Flint stared at him, the anger was replaced by confusion for one second, then it became anger again.

"It was you that started this, I never asked you for one single book," Flint shouted back.

"Oh, but you were quite happy about receiving them, weren't you?" He sneered. He didn't remember being this mad at the man before, and most of the times he thought Flint was insufferable (intelligent, beautiful, cunning, resourceful, yes, but also insufferable).

"Yes, I was, I like books! That was the whole point of why you decided to gift them to me. That and you wanting to be in my good graces so I wouldn't kill you back then."

Silver wasn't surprised that Flint had realized that but was still angry that Flint wouldn't talk about the other reason, the reason Silver kept bringing the books to him. It fueled his anger.

"And now that I won't bring you any more books, what will you do? Kill me just like you would've done then?"

"Of course not, Silver." Flint's tone changed instantly, hurt by the quartermaster's suggestion. "I would never willingly hurt you, Silver."

That honesty caught Silver off guard. By now he knew Flint well, it wasn't hard to know what was the truth and what was a lie — and whatever there was in between that Flint used to convince people to do his bidding.

"You did it anyway," was his only response. Hurt written all over his usually deceptive face.

"How have I hurt you? I am obviously unhappy about the books but I didn't mean to hurt you. You don't have to do it if you no longer want to."

Silver was about to respond to this, to detail in each and every manner that Flint hurt him with his actions but something stopped him. His senses were tingling. This seemed wrong. This whole conversation felt like two entirely different ones.

Flint hadn't apologized or tried to explain the reasons for his rejection. Flint wasn't mad. Flint was talking about the books and the books only. And he wasn't even trying to use the books as a metaphor considering how often their conversations ventured into subtext.

Although, the most fascinating thing was this honesty. No half-truths, no lies, no manipulation. None of that, just the simple truth. Silver started to wonder if he had misinterpreted this whole thing. What if, despite being the most intelligent man Silver had ever met (except for himself, obviously), Flint truly didn't notice the real meaning behind those words? What if his courting had gone unnoticed and Silver just assumed the worst? He tended to do that, it was part of the reason he had survived this far.

"Flint, why do you think I gave you all those books? Answer honestly."

Flint seemed puzzled by that question but said, "At first, because you didn't want me to kill you. Then, because we became friends. I also assumed that you wanted me in a good mood when dealing with complaints from the crew. But now that you asked I'm wondering if I am mistaken."

"Partly, yes. I did start this to assure you wouldn't kill me and possibly start to like me."

"And then?"

Silver licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry as if he had eaten sand. His heart was racing and he was more nervous about making this confession than he had been about boarding that ship full of armed men hours ago. He cleaned his sweating palms on his dark coat and left his hands there, giving them something to do instead of strangling himself for his stupidity.

"Then, it was a way to keep you satisfied with my presence. Buying my way into your side."

"It worked," Flint shrugged, unbothered by the admission.

"Partly, yes." Flint arched an eyebrow, silently interrogating him before speaking.

"But not all?"

"No."

They stood in uncomfortable silence for minutes, staring into each other. Silver, for the first time in his life, looking for the words to say. It was almost laughable that he had lied his way into his current position and through his whole life but now all words had left him. Love making people dumb was not unheard of but Silver had never experienced it to prove it right (until now, which was proving the existence of whole new levels for his stupidity).

"Are you going to speak any time soon?" Flint, who used to love silence from Silver, seemed irritated by it now, almost as agitated as Silver himself.

"I was courting you," Silver blurted and closed his eyes, considering this was the less subtle way of doing it and avoiding proper rejection. But since the most subtle approaches had all gone wrong, he considered this humiliation might be the only way to get the message through Flint's thick skull.

"Courting? Such as a gentleman does to a lady when pursuing her hand in marriage?" Flint asked carefully. The openness of his face from moments ago gave place to a carefully blank expression.

"I hadn't thought of marriage proposals, but yes, that kind of courting."

Silver was lying, he had thought of marriage. He even marked a poem that was about it but there was no need to humiliate himself further.

"Why didn't you say something earlier? It didn't feel like courting!" Flint practically yelled, anger back on his voice.

"I gave you romance books!"

Again: he marked a poem about marriage!

"I thought you chose them at random!"

"I marked the romantic passages! The romantic poems!"

Flint had doubted every single word and motivation of Silver for the most part of their time together. But trust him to read a dozen love poems and assume Silver had no ulterior motive to select them.

"I simply thought you enjoyed romance. It wasn't obvious enough."

In Flint's defensive tone, Silver knew that he was revisiting every single one of the books that were given to him, trying to find the clues that passed unnoticed.

Silver decided to help him by saying, "One of the poems literally said: 'as I embrace the darkness, I embrace thee; As I drown in the sea, I drown unto thee'. How the fuck wasn't that obvious enough?"

"I thought you just found it pretty..." Flint shrugged.

Silver despaired. He changed his mind, he was now ready for mutiny. Punching Flint and throwing him into the ocean seemed a proper response to all that Silver had gone through in these past months, assuming he had been rejected. Silver had to breathe in and out a few times before opting to keep his position as quartermaster and nothing else. Then, he was able to speak again.

"I know you're not interested-"

"What gave you that impression?"

It didn't seem like mockery but an honest question. Only because of that Silver answered it, instead of ignoring it and finally being over with this whole disaster of a discussion.

"You not knowing what my love poems meant," he summarized.

"I didn't know you were courting me!"

"I couldn't have been more obvious, Flint!" He shouted at him, who insisted on continuing this instead of just allowing Silver to get out of the cabin and hide below deck for a few days. He breathed deeply and continued to speak, trying to keep his voice neutral. "I understand now that the thought of me courting you was so absurd that you didn't even notice what I was doing. It's all right."

"You absolutely do not understand a single thing that has been happening, Silver."

John was dumbfounded by that statement coming from the man who had been oblivious to his courting. Flint continued talking before Silver could stop him to demonstrate how much he disagreed with what had been said.

"I didn't know you were courting me, if I did, I wouldn't have rejected you."

"What?" Silver's mouth hung open, in complete shock over that statement.

"I wasn't courting you but I left some clues about the nature of my feelings for you."

"Clues? What clues? Not killing me?"

Flint better not think that keeping him alive equals love declarations because it didn't. At all.

"I gave you permission to borrow my books! I don't do that to just anyone."

Silver could not believe what he was hearing. "It was only fair that you gave me permission, considering I gave you half of them. And I thought you were only offering because you knew I had no interest in reading them." He lost his patience and was becoming loud and angry again.

"No interest?" That seemed to offend Flint more than everything. "You marked your favourite poems! I thought you enjoyed reading as much as I do, you just didn't have the time available to do so. That's why you were given permission to borrow them at any time."

At this point, they were less than three inches from each other and screaming, angry and confused feelings in their hearts. Until Silver shook his head in defeat, diverting his eyes from Flint's.

"For fuck's sake, we're idiots!" He exclaimed angrily at Flint and at the world.

Flint's lips moved upwards, a small signal of his enjoyment and humour, one that would appear only to Silver — and that observation made Silver think how stupid he had been by not seeing those signs before, too worried about his poor attempt at courting.

"Imagine if people knew: the two most feared pirates in the world, cannot even figure out when they're being courted." It was the closest thing to a joke that Silver ever heard the captain say.

"That would be bad for our image," Silver agreed with a smile. It was a relieve to know that his feelings were reciprocated. Even if took him months and lots of books and a screaming match to figure it out. It was all worth it.

"Now, we should do something about all this goddamn wasted time." Once again, he and Flint were of one mind on the matter.

"That we should," Silver walked toward Flint. He put his hands in Flint's upper arms, as Flint rested his in Silver's hips. They stood smiling and staring at each other like the idiots in love they were.

"Just one thing," Flint said when they were halfway into their first kiss.

"Yes?" Silver asked half curious and half annoyed at the interruption.

"You must keep on bringing me books."

Flint smiled, not entirely joking but not entirely serious either. Silver, unable to do anything else, smiled in return.

"I shall steal you all the books in the world. In fact, I'll conquer another ship, name it the Walrus II and use it only to stock all the books I'm going to give you."

"A lifetime of stolen books will certainly need another ship."

Silver's eyes shone at that promise: a lifetime. Of the little he knew about love and proper court behaviour, marriages tended to be forever (there was one king in England who had been the exception to that rule but his king, his captain, Flint just had promised him forever, so he was going to hold that against him).

Once everything was solved between them, Silver announced their new status to their men, whom all cheered for his quartermaster happiness and the possibility of Flint being less cruel to them once he had a proper fuck. Captain, quartermaster and crew, they all were, for that moment at least, the happiest men on the seven seas.

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't heard of matelotage before, here's a link explaining this old form of same-sex marriage between pirates: https://www.ranker.com/list/gay-pirate-marriage/melissa-sartore
> 
> The title is ridiculous because this story is ridiculous. But I hope you enjoyed a little bit of silliness about these two idiots. <3
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated! =D


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